DARK SOULS MULTIPLAYER FAQ / Copyright 2012 Steven A. Sarasin
Version: 1.1.2 : 2/10/2012
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INTRODUCTION:
WELCOME TO MY FIRST F.A.Q.,
I've been an active member of the Dark Souls community. So many of the
questions I encounter are repeated again and again. The problem is that there
is no one-stop source for information regarding the multiplayer. You can find
bits and pieces across forums and wikis, but there is no one-stop source.
I have always wanted to write a guide, and here I find the one vacuum of
knowledge that is begging for such an unwritten FAQ. It is time I finally write
my own.
WHAT THIS FAQ COVERS:
This FAQ will answer questions about where and how one engages in multiplayer,
from pvp with strangers, to summoning someone specific. It also covers what
gear and items are worth upgrading, and the most efficient way to upgrade said
items. This guide has some example builds for various soul level ranges, and
attempts to provide counter strategies for the most common "cheese" tactics,
like the pivot-backstab (misleadingly called the lagstab by many), and chain
backstabs.
WHAT THIS GUIDE WILL NOT DO:
I am not going to cover how to beat the single player campaign, nor am I going
to divulge into boss strategies. There are many , many videos and wikis with
already excellent advice on these things. This also means I will not be
discussing the story/plot.
COPYRIGHT:
This FAQ is the soul property of me , Steven A. Sarasin, and is not to be
reproduced published, or posted on any website, magazine, or other medium ,
neither in part nor in whole , without written consent from me. If you wish
to use part, or all of my guide please write a request and outline of purpose
to tutoringsteve@gmail.com
WORK IN PROGRESS:
This guide is incomplete, missing sections, and parts of sections. Also the
formatting is continually being worked on to make the material more readable
and easier for quick info. I thank you for your patience as I continue to work
on this guide, and will update it as regularly as I can find time to work on
it. As this guide is for the dark souls community (i.e. the coolest game
community) I welcome any feedback that you have for me. If you think it would
be better if I did X, or added Y, let me know by emailing
tutoringsteve@gmail.com
Sites allowed to place this guide:
-gamefaqs.com
-ign.com
-gamespot.com
-neoseeker.com
forum users on these sites are excluded from the right to post this guide
without written consent.
Contents:
(HUM1) | Humanity
(FAR2) | Farming
(MOV3) | Weight & Movement
(ARM4) | Armor Choices
(WEA5) | Common PVP Weapons
(COV6) | Covenants
(PLA7) | Places/Soul Level
(CHR8) | Character builds/stats
(PVP9) | PVP strategies
__________________________________________________________
Some Common Lingo/Abbreviations:
--------------------------------
SL = Soul Level
Pulling / Aggroing = Causing a monster to notice and come at you
SSD = Soul Sign Down (used to communicate to someone you intend to
co-op/duel with).
NG+ / NG++ / e.t.c. = New Game +, New Game ++, e.t.c.
PVP = Player versus player , combat between two human opponents.
Twink = Low level player who has acquired/upgraded end-game gear.
These are the guys who invaded you in the beginning and did
500 lightning weapon damage to you in one hit.
__________________________________________________________
::::---------------::::
:: (HUM1) | Humanity ::
::::---------------::::
Humanity is essential to the multiplayer aspect of the game: Humanity can be
found obtained in several ways, and appears in your inventory under the items
tab. It may be equipped to your item slots, like Estus flasks. Its use will
add a point to the upper left corner of your screen, above your health bar,
and the total points (0 - 99) are your "Active Humanity".
At a bonfire you may consume an Active Point of humanity to "Reverse
Hollowing".The number in the corner dons a white border, and your character's
skin looks less zombie-like. This state is called "being human".
While human you may invade other people's world, summon others to help you,
and be invaded by enemy players. With a few exceptions (invading with a blue
orb or placing a white soapstone sign down to be summoned) you need to be
human to engage in the multiplayer aspect of this game.
Obtaining humanity:
You can find humanity as items scattered throughout the game world. You may
also gain a humanity if you kill a certain number of monsters in some areas.
Dying does not reset this kill-count, and the requirement requires you to kill
more than all the enemies once (you must reset them with the bonfire). It's
not a reliable way to gain humanity.
In essence there are three ways to effectively farm humanity:
Killing rats:
underneath the bridge where the red dragon roosts, in the basement
floors of some of the buildings in The Painted World, in the Depths.
Farming rats in the depths gives the benefit of being close to a
bonfire and in an area with a lot of potential to invade players if
you're between level 20-50.
The squid-headed enemies in the Dukes Archives:
They are found in the area where you get taken to after first
encountering (and dying to) Seath the Scaleless. The benefit here
is that they have a really high drop rate (about 2-3 humanity drop
from the 9 squid enemies that spawn). Also they enemies give a lot of
souls, but it's annoying to get down from the bonfire to the squid
enemies every time you kill them.
(*BEST*)The skeleton babies in The Tomb Of The Giants :
They spawn in the last room before the Gravelord Nito boss. Running
around the water they will spawn up to a maximum number, but when
killed they will respawn indefinitely. Sometimes the humanity will
disappear before you can collect it. I find that by the shores but
not on the shores, the humanity stays a bit longer. Try fighting them
with no-lock on and stay near the recently killed ones to scoop up any
humanity drop as soon as you can. The skeleton babies also give you
a fair amount of souls (about 1000 per, about 3000 per on NG +), and
since the respawn indefinitely, this is also a decent way to farm
souls.
I loaded up The Book Of The Guilty, which ranks players by how much
Sin they have accumulated through Covenant betrayals, npc killing, and player
indictments. The top players (who have 1000s of player kills and indictments)
all had 99 humanity points in their stat screen. The question is why?
The reason to have as many active humanity points as you can:
At 99 active humanity points you will gain
74 Physical Def. (same to VS strike , VS slash & VS thrust)
77 Magic DEF
72 Flame DEF
77 Lightning DEF
Giving you a total of 300 additional defense points (not counting the 120
extra Curse Resist & 110 Item Find)
Compare with the +5 Giant's Armor which gives you a total of 285 defense
points (not counting its Weight, Poise, and Resists)
Basically , 99 humanity points is like having an extra chest piece equipped
that weighs nothing, and gives more total defense points than any other piece
fully upgraded.
As if humanity wasn't important enough, it also has the ability to heal you
completely. If you're invading , or you have been summoned, then this allows
you to heal yourself despite being unable to use your estus flasks. Even if
you are the host, the humanity fully heals you, and although it's slower to
use, this property might make it better to use than an estus flask. For
example, if you are very near death and have lots of health compared to what
a single flask can heal, or you are injured but your phantoms are not, so
you want to save the flasks for healing your phantom.
WARNING: Any active humanity point will be dropped upon death just like your
souls. You can retrieve these by going to your bloodstain without dying, but
it's important to remind yourself how bad loosing 99 humanity would be. One
tip is that a ring of sacrifice will make it so that your bloodstain is not
moved/destroyed if you die on the way to retrieve it. So if you die, always
immediately equip a ring of sacrifice just in case you die again, so that you
don't loose your 99 humanity.
Rings of sacrifice can be bought from Pardoner of Sin , Velkas, atop the
Undead Church, in the tower past the gargoyle boss fight. Eventually he stops
selling them, but the number you can buy is something like 10, which should
last you a while.
__________________________________________________________
::::---------------------------::::
:: (FAR2) | Farming for upgrades ::
::::---------------------------::::
The only materials that are worth farming for are Souls, and chunks. With the
most recent patch, you can purchase large titanite, green titanite, and
(thankfully!) twinkling titanite.
::::--------------------------------------------------------::::
::> IT IS MUCH FASTER TO FARM SOULS AND BUY THESE MATERIALS < ::
::::--------------------------------------------------------::::
You may have been told to farm slimes (and if you asked me before, the slugs
in Blighttown) for large/green titanite shards. It's workable for low leveled
players, but it's simply not as efficient (not even close) as farming the
souls and buying the material from the giant blacksmith in Anor Londo.
I usually wait to farm from NPCs until NG+ where you gain an incredible amount
of souls compared to regular game.
The most important chunk type to farm is the regular Titanite Chunk. For these
the best method (by far) is killing the Darkwraith NPC enemies in Lower New
Londo Ruins.
Farming (recommended) prerequisites:
At least 10 active points of humanity.
A golden covetous ring.
A silver covetous ring.
A helm of avarice.
The 10 active points brings your item find up to 210 from 100. The effect
humanity has on item find is capped at 210, any more active humanity points
will not add to the item find (but still worth it because of the defense
bonuses, see above).
The golden ring of covetous, found in Sen's fortress, adds 200 item find, so
with your 10 active humanity points and the golden covetous ring you have the
maximum item find rate, 410.
The helm of avarice has the combined effect of wearing both covetous rings,
that is gives you 20% more souls per kill, and increases item find rate by 200
(to a maximum of 410).
The helm of avarice does not stack with the golden covetous ring, wearing both
produces no benefits. However, the silver covetous ring does stack with the
helm of avarice giving you a total of 44% more souls per kill!
souls * 1.20 (20% silver covetous) * 1.20 (20% helm of avarice)
= souls * 1.44 (combined effect is 44% increase).
I said I usually wait until NG+ to do any serious soul farming, and here's
why. New game + you get 3 times as many souls per kill, after that and
applying the 44% helm and ring boost to souls I'm getting
NG+ souls = normal_souls * 3 * 1.44 = normal_souls * 4.32.
That's more than 4 times as many souls per kill, so each soul farming run you
do nets you more than 4 runs worth on normal game.
Overkill bonus to souls :
If you kill the enemy in one hit (e.g.: with a backstab) you will get 20% more
souls for the kill, and if you kill the same enemy with the same weapon, this
time with a parry/riposte (which will do yet more damage), you get a total of
44% more souls (remember 1.2*1.2 = 1.44 not 1.40).
The parry/riposte doesn't necessarily trigger the double-overkill bonus, but
if you do enough damage in one backstab to get the single overkill bonus, the
parry/riposte will likely be enough damage to trigger the double-overkill
bonus. Notably, against the darkwraiths on NG+ , an 1100 damage parry does
not trigger double-overkill bonus, despite them having less than 750 hp.
Combine the double-overkill bonus with the helm and silver covetous ring
bonus you get :
1.44 * 1.44 = 2.0736 times (207.36 % ) more souls
My favorite places to farm souls are
(1) The forest NPCs: there are 4 that respawn
(a) the magician : 2000 souls , 6000 souls NG+
(b) the thief : 2000 souls , 6000 souls NG+
(c) the priest : 2000 souls , 6000 souls NG+
(d) the axeman : 1000 souls , 3000 souls NG+
Total = 7000 souls , or 21000 NG+
(2) New Londo Darkwraiths:
There are 11 total, giving you 13200 souls , or 39600 souls NG+. If
you wear the helm of avarice and silver covetous ring, a run will give
you a total of 57,024 on NG+ (more with overkill bonuses) as well as
2-5 Titanite Chunks.
(3) Being invaded:
When you are invaded you get 50% of the cost of the invaders next soul
level if you win. Assuming that on average the invading soul level is
equal to your soul level, you are getting 50% of a soul level per kill.
At higher soul levels, this method trumps ALL other forms of soul
farming.
My soul level 214 for example, can get 300,000 souls per kill, and on
a good day I'll get millions of souls per hour. On my level 45 , the
souls are between 7000-13000 for the most part, and I don't find that
being invaded is the BEST way to get souls consistently (although
it's surely the most fun).
Every 80,000 souls you get allows you to buy 10 twinkling titanite from the
giant merchant at Anor Londo. This is enough to bring a non-upgraded piece of
armor to +5, the max upgrade level for twinkling items.
There is an incredible amount of armors and combinations for wearing such
armor. Which armors to wear and which to upgrade is never simple, as it
depends on the weight limit you have.
__________________________________________________________
::::--------------------------::::
:: (MOV3) | Weight and Movement ::
::::--------------------------::::
Your_Weight is the total weight from your EQUIPPED ITEMs. Dark Souls removes
the weight limit to carried items, so only the equipped items matter. The
Equip_Load is the value of your "Equip Load" stat, which is determined by
your endurance and possibly modified by your items.
The ratio of Your_Weight to the Equip_Load determines how fast you move, roll,
sprint, and how long your recovery times are.
There are 5 classes of movement :
(Ia) 0 <= Your_Weight <= 0.25*Equip_Load :
Your roll is the fastest it can be, as well as your movement speed and
sprinting speed. You have almost no recovery time during rolls, which
means that almost the entirety of the animation is the invincibility
frames: The frames of the rolling animation that if attacked during,
you receive no damage.
(Ib) 0 <= Your_Weight <= 0.50*Equip_Load + Darkwood Grain Ring :
Your roll is replaced by a flip, as is your back-step (roll button with
no direction). Your movement speed is the same as when you are less
than 25% of your Equip_Load, even if you are between 25% and 50% of
your Equip_Load. The flip animation is maybe faster, but it's length
is longer, so this maneuver is harder to use to backstab people than
with a <25% regular roll.
(II) .25*Equip_Load <= Your_Weight <= 0.50*Equip_Load :
Your roll is about 50% longer in time, with the added frames leaving
you vulnerable to attack. The sprinting speed and movement speed are
also less, but in most situations this difference in speed is less
important than the roll speed duration. Counter to popular belief, this
move-speed/roll-time is completely viable, as most fights don't involve
long sprints, and rolling is only marginally more dangerous.
(III) .50*Equip_Load <= Your_Weight <= 1.00*Equip_Load
Your roll shakes the controller, and is now about 75% longer in duration
than that of (I). Your movement speed and sprint speed are more
noticeably reduced, leaving you vulnerable to someone with <25% equip
burden. The reduced movement speed is an obvious give away to PVP
opponents who will know immediately that you will be susceptible to
spell spamming and backstabs. Never have over 50% burden when PVPing.
(IV) Your_Weight > 1.00*Equip_Load :
This is unacceptable. You move like molasses, and trying to roll
staggers you. This lack of mobility would make even the best of players
a free meal for enemy players and NPCs alike.
You always want to be below 50% of your Equip_Load, so that you can roll
effectively. The Darkwood Grain Ring allows you to maintain the fastest
move-speed with up to double the limits that having <25% Equip_Load would
impose, making this ring extremely popular.
__________________________________________________________
::::--------------------::::
:: (ARM4) | Armor choices ::
::::--------------------::::
As a general rule of thumb , I tend to equip my weapon/shield of choice first,
then use the remaining weight for my armor. This way requires a great deal of
flexibility in armors, which means I need to have most of the armor sets
upgraded.
Twinkling Titanite sets that should be upgraded:
Giants set Paladin set
Black Iron set Catarina set
Big Hat Logan's Chest & Helm Gargoyle Helm
Darkwraith set Kirk's Armor set
Total souls needed : 2,160,000
Optional Twinkling Titanite sets:
Silver Knight set Black Knight set
Brass set Witch set
Oolacile set Painting Guardian set
Crimson set Xanthous set
Embraced Armor set Black Cleric set
Total souls needed: 3,200,000
Mostly you want to upgrade the chest piece, then the legs and hands, and
finally the helm piece. The reason is that for the same upgrade cost the chest
piece is simply more powerful. Also, the helm can be replaced by one of the
specialty helms (which can't be upgraded).
Poise:
Poise is new to Dark Souls, and its an important feature of melee
combat. Each time a weapon hits you, your poise meter (which is
invisible) fills up a little bit. If that meter is filled completely
you become stunned, your character staggers, and is unable to act. If
the opponent continues to swing at you while in this state, you are
helpless, and this is known as "stun-locking". To avoid being
stun-locked you need to have enough poise to be able to take a hit.
While the debate rages on about how much poise you need, make sure to have more
than zero, or else any attack will stun you. A good amount to shoot for is 40+,
and if you plan to get hit more, then aiming towards 70 poise is not a bad
idea.
Even with a lot of poise, successive hits will eventually stun you. The idea is
really to be able to take 1, at most 2, hits without being stunned. Just enough
so that your mistake won't guarantee a loss.
Trick:
If you are being stun-locked and you repeatedly try to switch your
weapon or shield(right on the d-pad) you can break the stun-lock just
long enough to roll out of the way. This is extremely helpful,
especially for those who wear no-poise gear. You have to time the
switch with the onset of the attack though, so it's not a perfect
solution.
The highest poise is found on the Havel set, with the Stone set a close second.
Other high poise sets include Giant's set, Black Iron set, Paladin's set, Golem
set, and Smough's set.
Notable Non-Twinkling Armor:
By non-twinkling armor, I mean the armor sets that must be upgraded with regular
titanite instead of with twinkling titanite. It's a lot more hassle to upgrade
these pieces because eventually you must use Titanite Chunks, which must be
farmed 2-5 chunks per run from the Darkwraiths at New Londo Ruins. You can't
buy them.
It gets worse, because to finish upgrading the armor you need to use a Titanite
Slab, which is so rare that you may as well consider there to be a finite amount
of them per game cycle. One guaranteed, and three if you know where to look.
But 3 slabs isn't even a full set (which is 4 pieces of gear).
Luckily in these cases, it's not whole sets that stand out, but individual
pieces. For example, Big Hat Logan's leggings (his little shoes) and his gloves
(Travelerís gloves) are awful. You can save your Titanite for another piece.
The hat he wears and especially the robe he wears are actually really good for
light-armor (no poise). I'll list a couple of the better non-twinkling armors,
and their stats at +14 (the last upgrade possible before you must use a Titanite
Slab).
<to be added later>
Specialty Helms:
Mask of the father, mask of the Mother, Mask of the Child, Dusk Crown.
<detail to be added later>
__________________________________________________________
::::-------------------------::::
:: (WEA5) | Common PVP Weapons ::
::::-------------------------::::
I will attempt to give a brief Synopsis of what I consider to be the major pvp
weapons. These are the weapons I see the most in pvp settings. I make no
recommendation for a "best" weapon nor even a best weapon for a particular
build. I strongly believe that almost any weapon is viable in the right setting
with the right amount of skill. It's really down to personal preference and
situation.
You can learn a lot about an opponent simply from their choice of weapon. The
Great Black Knight weapons require over 30 strength to use one-handed, which
implies something about their build and stat point distribution. A moonblade
sword on the other hand requires intelligence and probably implies a magic user.
These tell tales are especially important at lower levels where 30 strength
would imply a very low amount of health for example, while at SL 120 it still
leaves room for the opponent to have high vitality , or some faith/int magic.
Other weapons imply a strategy. For example, a rapier implies they will try to
backstab, or a parry/riposte. You can also assume that they are using a hornet
ring (which means they only have 1 other ring slot).
Knowing your opponent is the only way to know how to counter your opponent.
In no particular order:
Claymore:
6lbs, 16str, 10 dex, good at stunlocking, fairly slow,
2handed roll + R1 thrusts the sword very far, 2hand R2
can hit targets roughly 180 degrees around the user,
1hand R2 is a fairly long thrust attack.
I love and hate this sword. It's powerful and versatile, yet it often
feels like the sword is too short. Useful attack opportunities are
negated by a tiny distance too far.
Watch out when someone 2hands the sword, as the weak attack (an up then
down chopping combo) can stunlock you very quickly. It's quick for the
class of swords, and the stunlock is near inescapable. Not as bad as the
moonlight blade though. Also, when someone rolls towards you with this
weapon it's an immediate threat, be ready for that thrust attack.
Zweihander:
10lbs 24str, 10 dex., great at stunlocking, very slow
Similar to claymore except longer, slower, and a lot
more damaging. This bad boy can stunlock in 1 hit, and
can kill easily with regular attacks. Has the same
rolling 2handed R1 attack as the Claymore.
This sword is a BEAST. It's slow and powerful , and I think the longest
weapon in the game. Even at the maximum possible stamina this sword can
only last for a couple 2handed swings. However, one direct 2handed swing
is sure to stun all but the most heavily armored warriors.
When using this sword don't treat it like other weapons. Each attack
costs a lot of stamina, and they must be judged carefully for their
effectiveness. Also keep in mind that the long reach requires long
recovery times, and you're vulnerable to those dreaded backstabs
for quite some time after any missed attack.
Uchigatana: 33 bleed build per strike
6lbs, 16str, 14 dex, fast attack, causes bleed, lacks range, low
durability. This weapon is fantastic overall, medium base damage is
made up for by an awesome 1handed R2 thrust, a backstep (roll with
no direction) followed by an attack lunges forward and thrusts for
huge range.
The bleed build up is quite effective as a physchological weapon.
Opponents tend to panick as that bleed bar builds up, and bleeding can
be applied right through their shield.
Learn to love that 1hand strong attack (thrust). It's far reaching and is
really great at knicking people when they've briefly left themselves open.
It's a bit longer than say Balder Side Swords thrust , but it does more
damage and applies that dreaded bleed.
The weak attack will be a great source of punishment against people who
attempt to get behind you for the backstab. Unlock, point your character
opposite the way he was facing and go for a couple quick slashes. Be
warned that spamming this attack will demolish your stamina, leaving you
useless for a moment. Also, it's not very hard to parry for people who
are good at that. If you see someone attempt to parry you, be very
careful and NEVER swing twice in quick succession.
Washing Pole: 30 bleed per strike
::::---------------------------------------------::::
:: Weight: 8lbs || Requirements : 20 STR / 16 DEX ::
::::---------------------------------------------::::
:: Bleed rate per strike 30 || Bleed value 300 ::
::::---------------------------------------------::::
:: PROS: Incredible range |X| Cons: Slowest katana,::
::causes blood loss, |X|Very low durability, ::
::one-hand move set great,|X|low bleed rate ::
::::---------------------------------------------::::
What can I say? I'm in love. It's got the uchigatana's move set and
bleed, well a little less bleed per strike, and it's freakishly long. I
mean this weapon is on par with the longest spears! The 1handed weak
attack feels like it has a little bit less range than I expect looking
at it, but the 2handed weak attack has just the right range. The thrusts
on this thing could hit Russia from Sarah Palin's house. It's awesome.
However, like the Uchigatana (and all Katanas/Curved Swords) this weapon
is weak to people who are good at parrying in pvp. As well, it's easy to
get carried away and burn up your stamina trying to get the bleed to set
in, or to finish off a stunned/weakened opponent. This will be the death
of you if you're not careful!
So remember that it's always better to take it slow and steady, so that
when the enemy is actually ready to be finished you have the stamina to
seal the deal before they attempt to heal.
Chaos Blade: 36 bleed per strike
Iaito: 33 bleed per strike
Gravelord Sword:
Murakumo:
Quelaag's Sword:
This weapon is great for single player, and looks really cool. It's the
most common demon ascension weapon, but it's also a telltale noob sign.
That's because the weapon is not very good for PVP. Its damage doesn't
match up with the more common lightning or buffed weapons, it's reach
is surprisingly low for the size of the weapon, and its regular attack
pattern begs to be parried. The kick move (forward + R1) is replaced
with a slash followed by a fanciful backflip. However the stamina
costs only as much as a normal R1 attack, so it's conceivable to use
this as a "free" roll.
Shotel:
R2 attack strikes (almost) as if you have no shield up, so don't bother
blocking this weapon. It's fast acting , but has low reach, and spamming
this weapon leaves one very open to a parry. The damage is surprisingly
good for the size of the weapon, but nothing special. Great side-arm,
but a poor choice as one's only weapon.
Moonblade Sword:
Used to be my favorite weapon in Dark Souls, and it's definitely still
near the top. The 2hand up/down chopping weak attack will stunlock
anyone and almost immediately. I've stunlocked people in full Havel's
before. I'm still trying to figure out what makes this weapon so much
better at it then even the Serpent Sword or Claymore.
But that's not all that defines this sword, as it has an incredibly
useful special attack. If you hit R2 , either 1handed or 2handed, it
launches a powerful magic attack from the weapon. A successful hit will
knock the enemy flat on their face.
If you see someone sprinting towards you, probably for a backstab,
untarget them, hit R2, and aim in front of your feet or the ground
directly behind you depending on how close they've gotten. The magic
explosion will get the enemy so often, it's saved me dozens of times.
For this reason I carry a full stack (99) of repair powder from the
Undead Berg's merchant. Thespecial attack has the one downside of
reducing the durability of the blade by 40 each time you use it's
2handed R2. The 1handed R2 is not nearly as good because it launches a
vertical crescent as opposed to the 2handed R2 which launches a
horizontal crescent. The horizontal one is MUCH harder to dodge, and
therefore much more effective despite it costing twice as much
durability
It's usually not worth while to spam the R2, even with a full stack of
repair powder. If you're locked onto the enemy then your magic attack
will go to where they were when you initiated the attack, so it's
likely to miss a mobile opponent. However an unlocked attack can be
made to lead the enemy, to have the magic attack land where the enemy
will be when the attack hits the ground.
Rapier:
Bandit's Knife:
Halberds:
Black Knight Great Axe (BKGA):
Greatsword of Artorias :
Great Scythe:
Lifehunt Scythe:
Painted World Guardian
Spears:
Bows:
Crossbows:
__________________________________________________________
::::----------------::::
:: (COV6) | Covenants ::
::::----------------::::
The Darkmoon Blade:
::::-------------------------------------------------------------::::
:: Darkmoon | Can invade while hollow | Phantom color = Blue ::
:: | Doesn't leave a bloodstain | ::
:: | if you die while invading | ::
::_____________|___________________________________________________::
::Blue Eye orb | Invade 10% below level, no upper limit ::
::-------------|---------------------------------------------------::
::Covenant ring| Will invade Dark Anor Londo, no lower/upper limit ::
::-------------|---------------------------------------------------::
::Reward | 10% of cost of host's next soul level in souls ::
:: | and 1 stone of reprisal ::
::::-------------------------------------------------------------::::
As a darkmoon blade you are given a Blue orb and a Covenant ring, both
of which allow you to invade even while hollow.
You activate the orb as you would any other item, and it will search
for a target to invade. The target must have "sin", that is they must
have either betrayed a covenant, killed a non-hostile NPC, or been
indicted by another player. Upon invasion you enter the hosts world as
a blue phantom, a spirit of vengeance has invaded announcement tells
the host of your presence.
The Darkmoon covenant ring works a bit differently. You equip it, and
it constantly searches for someone in Dark Anor Londo. A person who
kills Gwynavere is in Dark Anor Londo. Once an invasion is initiated
you are summoned to Dark Anor Londo and the invasion proceeds normally.
Successfully killing the host gives you a souvenir of reprisal , which
are used to level up your stance with the covenant, as well as 10% of
host's next soul level cost, and an active humanity point.
Defeat has no repercussions, and you return your world as you were
before, hollow or alive, and with all your active humanity and souls.
The Darkwraiths:
::::--------------------------------------------------------------::::
:: Darkwraith | Must be human to invade | Phantom color = Red ::
:: | Will leave a bloodstain | ::
:: | if you die while invading | ::
::________________|_________________________________________________::
::Red Eye orb | Invade 10% below level, no upper limit ::
::----------------|-------------------------------------------------::
::Cracked Red Eye*| Same as above but is consumed after invasion ::
::----------------|-------------------------------------------------::
::Reward | 10% of cost of host's next soul level in souls ::
:: | and 1 active humanity point ::
::::--------------------------------------------------------------::::
As a darkwraith you must give Kaathe the serpent enough humanity to
become a Darkwraith+1 which rewards you the red eye orb. This orb
works identically to the cracked red eye orb, except unlike the
cracked variant, the red eye orb is non-perishable.
In order to invade as a Darkwraith you must actually be human and an
invading darkwraith will appear red to you and the host. A successful
invasion gains you an active humanity point, and 10% of the hosts
next soul level cost.
If you die while invading you leave all your active humanity and
your souls in a bloodstain right where you were when you left your
world to invade. You do however remain human, but be careful not to
loose your bloodstain as it will disappear if you die on the way.
*- Cracked Red Eye Orbs can be used whether or not you are a darkwraith, but
it's just like using the Red Eye Orb which is exclusive to Darkwraiths.
The forest Covenant:
::::-------------------------------------------------------------::::
:: Forest | Can invade while hollow | Phantom color = Blue ::
:: Covenant | Doesn't leave a bloodstain | ::
:: | if you die while invading | ::
::_____________|___________________________________________________::
::Covenant ring| Will invade Darkroot Garden, any soul level 1-300 ::
::-------------|---------------------------------------------------::
::Reward | 10% of cost of host's next soul level in souls ::
:: | and 1 active humanity point as well as a random ::
:: | upgrade item (possibly a pendant) ::
::::-------------------------------------------------------------::::
The forest Covenant gives you a ring, Alvina's Ring, which is identical
in nature to the Darkmoon Covenant Ring. While wearing it, even while
hollow, you may invade an intruder in the Darkroot Garden. A forest
covenant invader also appears as a blue phantom, and is announced as a
spirit of vengeance.
As a member of the forest Covenant You can invade anyone level 1-300
who is human, has not defeated Sif, and is in the Darkroot garden past
the door you unlock with the Seal of Artorias. It preferences people
near your soul level if possible, but you can end up invading someone
way over your level.
A successful invasion nets you the standard 10% of the cost of the
host's next soul level and one active humanity point. Unique to the
forest covenant, is that when you successfully defeat the host you are
given a random upgrade item, such as a green titanite shard. The worth
of this upgrade item seems to be in part determined by the soul level
of the host you killed. A higher level opponent seems to yield stronger
upgrade materials. I have seen everything from small titanite shards,
to titanite chunks, but never a slab (yet).
It's also been said that there is a rare chance to get a pendant, which
is purely story related, as a victory consolation instead of the random
upgrade item.
The Sunlight Covenant:
The Dragon Covenant:
Others:
__________________________________________________________
::::-------------::::
:: (PLA7) | Places ::
::::-------------::::
The forest: SL range 1 - 300
The forest is my personal favorite pvp area in the game. At least for
being the host. If you're not in the forest covenant then you are
going to be invaded by 3 different groups of people: Darkmoon covenant
(if you have sin), forest Covenant (you're on their turf!), Darkwraith.
I like to buy the Crest of Artorias from Andres of Astoria (the
jacked blacksmith between the forest, sen's, and the undead parish) as
soon as possible. With it you can open the sealed door near the
Darkroot Garden bonfire. This door immediately leads out to a small set
of stairs.
At the bottom of these stairs is where you will find most of the soul
signs. If you're not in the forest covenant you can summon one ally
here. It helps to have an ally as you will be invaded very frequently,
so that you will often have 2 invaders at once. Having your own backup
can mean the difference, but be warned that many consider this
dishonest or cheesy (only if you kill them of course).
Dangers:
There are a ton of (lethal) npcs. The first to watch out for
are the humanoid NPCs, the wizard, the rogue, the priest, and the
axeman. The wizard can be goaded into melee for a quick parry/riposte,
but be warned, on NG+ his magic does quite a bit of damage. The rogue
is semi-invisible but still target-able. He's glitchy in that he will
sometimes run up to you and stand still, until you attack him. I
usually try to goad him into attacking and then parry him. The priest
has a harder parry timing as he holds his weapon above for a moment,
but it's still easy. The one to watch out for is the axe guy, who on
New Game+ can do over 500 damage a hit. I've had many phantoms die
after accidentally aggroing the axeman. He's even more of a nuisance
if you're fighting him while fighting a human invader. I almost always
parry him, unless I'm being invaded and there is noticeable lag.
On the right, from the stairs, starts the treevine enemies. There are
a bunch of them that come from fairly far, so watch your back
constantly to make sure none of them have snuck up on you. They have
more health than the tree enemies in the rest of the garden. They also
do a lot of damage on NG+, so watch out for their whips, as they can
damage you while rolling! The silliest but most deadly attack is a
close range grab where they pull you up to their mouth and start
munching. It can do a lot of damage, and I've had it kill quite a few
phantoms. They're fairly quiet so make sure you don't let one sneak up
on you while you fight a human or another tree guy.
Across the bridge where Alvina is, and towards the door to the Sif
battle are many little mushroom dudes. When hit they will run toward
a small pond where there are 2 large mushroom dudes. The large ones
telegraph their punches with plenty of time to move, but the reach
of their attacks can be surprising, and the punch does serious damage.
Many annoying invaders will lure you here to make auto-locking harder
(because of the little mushroom guys everywhere stealing the lock-on)
and to have you fight them in between the big mushrooms.
The rolling cats are up the ladder from the Hydra boss in Darkroot
Basin but they can also be reached from the Crest of Artorias door. If
you get lured to this area be very careful of following. It's extremely
hectic (and fun!) to be fighting an invader while you have these cats
rolling around crushing you. If you beat the invader while the cats are
rolling you've permanently scarred the ego of the invader (who will
doubtlessly have their own excuses as to why they lost).
Course of action:
Whenever I decide to partake in some forest action I always follow a
routine. Become human at bonfire, run down stairs, initiate the
summoning of a phantom, while that's happening I engage the wizard.
Usually by the time I'm fighting the priest/rogue the summon finishes
or fails. If it fails I run back and re-initiate a summon, otherwise bow
to phantom ally, and continue killing the remaining NPCs. Then you two
will probably be invaded, try to fight the invader on the clearing, as
it's annoying to have the fight drag into the treemen area. If you have
time , quickly clear out the treemen. Honestly, I never bother with the
mushroom men, but if invasions are coming on slowly I might run over to
that side and kill them while I wait.
If you want to be particularly scary to the next invader, leave a prism
stone wherever you kill someone. If you're on a killing streak the
forest floor will be littered with multicolored prisms, and any
invader will immediately recognize the signs. Psychological warfare can
cause panicky moves and hopefully misplays, but dropping prism stones
during someones death cam is as bad or worse than a taunt. So it's
best to wait a little after the kill to drop the prism.
The Undeadberg: SL 1-15 but semi-active at all levels
This is the first area most people go to after leaving the Undead Asylum
tutorial level. There is a single bonfire, right outside the room with
that bonfire is where most people leave summon signs / red soapstone
signs.
The area is active mostly due to low level darkwraiths who beat
the four kings at low level (often SL 1) so that they can invade anyone.
Remember that invaders have no upper limit on what soul level they can
invade but there is a lower limit. Being SL 1 allows them to invade
anyone, presumably with the intention of invading new characters with
their twinked out SL1 darkwraith.
On the other side of the spectrum you have high level players that camp
out this area, waiting for low level darkwraiths to invade them. They
do this for vengeance, justice, and possibly because they have a wraith
like sense of cruelty and humor. As a low level darkwraith be warned that
your noob bashing will be interspersed with people dual wielding Smough
Hammer's rocking 1800+ hit points. Good luck :)
The area's enemies are really not dangerous so it's your call whether or
not to clear out the npcs as quickly as possible like in the forrest.
The exception would be on higher NG+, where any enemy is a threat due to
damage scaling. Also watch out for the opponent running to heal and
having a left-over hollow knight get in your way long enough to allow the
heal to go unpunished.
The Undead Parish: SL 5-30 , but invaders will encounter people up to max level
The Gargoyle boss is unescapable, you need to do it in order to get to
Anor Londo. Because of this the area remains very active. It's also a
beginner area, often times the second boss people kill. This means a lot
of lower level players for the lower level darkwraiths to harass.
To take advantage of the youthful population one often encounters here,
the low level darkwraiths often invade fully equipped with lightning
weapons, upgraded armors, and no hint of shame, honor , or remorse.
That being said it's fairly easy to find a phantom or two to help you.
Most summon signs are left across the church from the elevators right
outside the church steps. Comming from the forrest, this is the first
entrance you encounter.
The annoying part of this area is that most battles will take place in
the second level of the church. This is because invaders always start
at the fog gate, atop the two ladders. Otherwise you may have fairly
interesting battles on the church's first floor. The pillars provide
much needed cover from magic and make large swinging weapons like the
zweihander less useful.
Otherwise fights will take place outside the church, in the open region
right next to where I said the soul signs are left. That's because when
invaded a host will typically retreat back to summon a phantom or too.
As the invader you will likely want to force an encounter before the
host successfully summons.
Anor Londo Bridge:
Anor Londo Inner:
Dark Anor Londo:
Painted World:
Demon Ruins:
The Kiln:
The Depths:
Questions/Corrections/Requests/E.t.c. :
Please email me at tutoringsteve@gmail.com